Communist Party of Spain

The Communist Party of Spain (CPE) is a communist political party in Spain, founded on 14 November 1921 as a merger of smaller communist movements. The party engaged in political violence during the 1920s and was subjected to discrimination in the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera after his 1923 seizure of power, and the party called for an end to Primo de Rivera and the monarchy's rule, the creation of a federal popular republic, recognition of the independence of Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Morocco, freedom of association, expropriation of large estates and distribution of land to peasants, organization of workers' councils in industry, formation of a central revolutionary committee and a military committee by members of several parties, and a planned insurrection in Madrid. The CNT and Basques were reluctant to work with the communists, who were calmed down by their Soviet allies. The party regained strength under the Frente Popular government during the Spanish Civil War, and it grew from 30,000 to 100,000 members in the first five months of the war. After Francisco Franco's April 1939 seizure of power, the CPE was persecuted by the new fascist Falange government, and many party members were forced into exile. After the restoration of democracy in 1975, the CPE regained some of its former strength, and it had 5/350 Congress of Deputies seats, 1/266 Senate seats, and 2/54 European Parliament seats in 2017.